There was one day that I was assisting and an older handicapped woman came in to get her hair done with her husband. She had been coming to my boss for a long time but I had just started with this stylist so I had no idea what to expect. (I had just started working for the salon a couple of months before) This client wasn't the nicest woman on the planet so I had a feeling this was going to be a very long few hours. As she sat down in the shampoo bowl I asked her if she was comfortable and if the water temp was ok and she abruptly replied "it's fine". Because of the handicap and her "hefty" presence the water from the bowl ended up mostly on her back and less in the drain. She got up slowly and I asked her to follow me to the changing room so I could get her a dry robe. She understandably was not nice about this situation. I wouldn't be too pleased if my back got soaked by some new assistant. (Of course I felt awful and blamed myself).
Now I want you all to take a minute to remember that no one had warned me in any way about this couple or what I was about to be put through. The assistants normally warned each other and protected each other but I think because I was still new I was going through an initiation phase that left me standing alone.
So this woman gave me a hard time all the way back to the chair and pretty much told me I was the only person EVER to have gotten her wet which of course made me feel even worse! (I came to find out later that day that the wife actually gets soaked every single time she comes in. She was just that unhappy that she took it out on me.)
The client then asked if I could get her husband a diet coke. She said no ice and just the can. So I brought her husband the drink and he then got upset that there was no ice and no glass. The 2 of them then began to fight and tried to blame the entire diet coke problem on me. AWESOME!
As the womans service came to an end it was time to grab the husband and wash his hair. (He didn't have much) I figured if I gave him the best shampoo of his life it would make up for everything. So I got him in the chair and felt pretty confident I could change this day around. I had a cheesy smile on my face, made sure he was comfortable (he had the same uncomfortable look on his face all the time) and was ready to go. I start shampooing him, looked down and he is making these ridiculously silly faces and looked like he was in horrible pain. (Picture below is to give an idea of the face but not the actual client:
I ignored it for a moment and was in a very, very confused state. Do I say something? I am barely touching him so could I be hurting him? So about 2 minutes later I got up the courage to ask..."Sir is everything all right?"
"No! I don't like to be touched" was his response.
So now I am standing behind a shampoo bowl, hands full of suds, his hair is full of suds, and a very unhappy man. Did anyone feel like letting me know he didn't like to be touched? Why would you ever get a shampoo if you don't like to be touched?????? I am also now praying the owner of the salon doesn't walk by because if he sees this guys face I will get fired for abuse. So I stood there for a minute with a confused look on my face trying to figure out the best next move. I had to endure this "funny face" for another 3 very long minutes while I rinsed out all of the shampoo and nicely turned to him and say: "so I am guessing you'd like to skip the head massage?". Lets just say he skipped the massage and I never saw him get shampooed there again.
So for all of you men and women out there who don't like being touched...just shampoo yourself at home. Assistants feel just as uncomfortable when you make those silly faces as you do.
Until next time...
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